Panasonic to Offer Stereo 3D Video Encoding and Authoring to Studios

In a bid to enable availability of Blu-ray 3D content and sell more high-end stereoscopic 3D HDTVs and Blu-ray 3D players this year, Panasonic Corp. announced intention to help Hollywood studios to encode and author their movies in the new format. According to the consumer electronics company, this will be the industry's first complete, end-to-end Blu-ray 3D encoding and authoring facility

Panasonic has unveiled its fully operational Blu-ray 3D advanced authoring center located at Panasonic's research and development facility in Panasonic Hollywood laboratory. The center now offers studios and filmmakers Blu-ray 3D image processing, interactive programming as well as authoring and disc certification services, which are capable of making Blu-ray 3D discs commercially available as early as Spring 2010.

Panasonic Hollywood laboratory has collaborated with studios and the creative community in Hollywood to conduct Blu-ray 3D encoding as well as menu and subtitle authoring trials for about a year now. This type of early collaboration and research has given the advanced authoring center expertise in guiding and advising companies during the key early planning stages of a Blu-ray 3D title.

"Given Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory's vast experience with HD image processing, we are confident that we lead the industry with MPEG-4 MVC (Multiview Video Coding) 3D image compression technology," said Jeannine Patton, vice president and general manager of the advanced authoring center.

Earlier this year Panasonic said that it would sell one million of stereo 3D HDTVs this year, which will be hard to do if there is no Blu-ray 3D content available. Analysts believe that the total available market for stereoscopic 3D TVs will be around 1.2 million units this year.